Black Lightning (2018–…): Season 1, Episode 7 - Equinox: The Book of Fate - full transcript

Previously on Black Lightning...

How could you, of all people, not
know that Joey Toledo was back?

Now, we are talking about the guy

who worked for the man
who killed my father.

If he is still around,
then Tobias is still around.

Where is Tobias?

Freeland is in crisis
because of Green Light.

Toledo's behind that.
Tobias is behind him.

You couldn't wait for
me to get in the suit.

Now you're gun-shy about Tobias?

Why is that?



We had a deal. You're
not supposed to be here.

Did you know that in Africa some

people believe that albinos are magical?

These people will actually
kidnap random albino,

cut him up, grind up his bones,
and sell it as magic dust.

What was that?

Someone's breaking in.
They're coming this way.

Okay, hide. I'm coming.

Get away from her!

Let her go.

Anissa?

Look up.

Look down.

I still can't believe it.



All that talk about
nonviolence and Dr. King

and Dad's Black Lightning?

Your ocular responses are
normal. Your concussion's healing.

Let me check your ribs again.

Mom, I told you, I'm fine.

My God.

You're healing already.

Look, Anissa, you have to stop
this now. It will destroy your life.

But you and Dad taught me
that I need to help people.

That's what I'm doing.
I am helping people.

Yeah, as a social activist or a doctor,

not as a super-powered vigilante.

So I'm just supposed to sit back

and watch The One Hundred
destroy what's left of Freeland?

No!

This is a gift from
God, Mom, a blessing.

You sound just like your fathe

That's a bad thing?

Do you know, together, Dad and I

can put an end to The One
Hundred once and for all.

Look, I understand what you're
going through right now, trust me.

But this road you're on, it only
leads to heartbreak and pain.

Do you have powers?

Can you stop a bullet?

Shoot lightning out of your hands?

No, of...

Then how can you possibly
understand what I'm going through?

I did some digging, and there's
some chatter on the dark web

about a group of high-end
tech thieves making the rounds.

They pull a job, and then
they move on to the next city.

So far, they've stolen over ten
million dollars worth of equipment

that they turn around and
sell to the highest bidder.

My guess,

Lynn was just in the wrong
place at the wrong time.

They're probably already gone,

but she should stay here
for a few days, just in case.

Jefferson,

you shouldn't beat yourself
up over this Anissa thing.

There's no way you could
have known it was her.

Why don't you go home, get
some rest, check on Jennifer?

And I'll look after Lynn.

Jennifer's at Kiesha's.

Thank you for your concern.

Have I done something to upset you?

It's what you didn't do, Gambi.

Why didn't you tell me
Tobias was back in Freeland?

- We're back to this again?
- Yes, we are.

Do you expect me to believe
it only took you two hours

to get some intel on
thieves on the dark web,

but you haven't heard anything,

anything about a six-foot
albino in Freeland?

- I told you. I didn't know.
- I know what you told me.

It doesn't mean I believe you.

I didn't tell you in
order to protect you.

From Tobias?

From yourself.

Jefferson,

I didn't want you to do something that

you'd regret for the rest of your life.

There's no coming back
from something like that.

Trust me.

That's just it.

I don't.

Joey, where'd you find this clown?

Thought you said he was one of the best.

He was, boss. I saw him
tussle with my own eyes.

Find me someone worth my time.

Down, boy.

Finally, a brotha with some heart.

He has to be hyped-up on something.

Check his bag.

Green Light.

His nose was thinner,

and his eyes were a
little further apart.

Okay.

You're lucky Black Lightning
showed up when he did, Lynn.

Any idea why you?

No.

Do you think anyone from your
past may have a problem with you?

An ex-boyfriend maybe? A colleague?

No.

Have you been in any
altercations lately?

Did you take somebody's parking
space? Cut somebody off in traffic?

No. No.

Have you started dating anyone new?

No.

I'm not even gonna pretend to know

what you do at your lab over at Bowman,

but is there a universe
where some of your research

could have been targeted by a third
party, maybe for financial gain?

Most of my research deals with addiction

and its effects on the human brain.

I... I don't think
there's any money in that.

Hmm.

What about you, Jefferson?

Me?

What about me?

First your girls get kidnapped,
and now this thing with Lynn...

Do you think The One Hundred
is trying to send you a message?

Why would The One Hundred care about me?

I'm just a high school principal.

Come on, now, Jeff.

We both know you're
a lot more than that.

You give your students at Garfield hope,

make them believe they can
do something with their lives.

Those are kids The One
Hundred can't put to work.

Just watch your back,
that's all I'm saying.

Are these the men that
broke into your lab?

That's them.

I couldn't forget them if I tried.

I feel this endeavor requires
an especially delicate touch.

_

What if someone figured out
that I was Black Lightning

and tried to abduct you to get to me?

Why didn't they take me
when they had the chance?

I don't know.

I just keep racking my brain,

trying to figure out why me, why then?

Did anything out of the ordinary happen

around the time of the break-in?

Actually, there was one thing.

Anissa came by with a
box of Alvin's research.

- My father?
- Yeah, I...

I didn't have a chance
to look through it,

but I did come across some pretty
advanced biochemical formulas.

Where did she get his research?

She was coming to the lab to talk about

it just before the break-in happened.

You think it's just a coincidence?

At this point, we
can't rule anything out.

Excuse me.

I thought PCP was bad.

This Green Light is on
a whole 'nother level.

It's too volatile, too addictive.

Truthfully, it's
killing too many people,

and dead customers don't pay.

So what are you gonna do about it?

Syonide.

- Yes, boss?
- Reach out to Lady Eve's people.

Tell 'em I want a
face-to-face with her evil ass.

- You got it.
- Wait.

You're gonna talk to her?

Talk?

No.

Okay, maybe what happened
to you isn't my fault,

but what happened to Anissa is.

There's no way you could have known

that Anissa would manifest abilities.

Me, on the other hand, my work deals

with mapping and rewriting genes,

I should have known
there was a possibility.

We have to call Anissa, get
her to meet us at the hospital

so I can run some tests.

We need to know what we're dealing with.

No, no, no.

The only place we're
going is back to Gambi's.

Have you forgotten you were just
held captive in your own lab?

The men who did it are
still out there somewhere.

No, of course, I haven't forgotten.

Okay, Anissa has powers now.

But she'll still have powers
when all this blows over.

You can test her when
we know you're safe.

What do we do with her in the meantime?

We have to protect her from herself.

Convince her that using her powers
is putting her life in danger.

That it takes more than it gives.

What if Jen has inherited
abilities as well?

Jen is already too much to
handle even without powers.

We have to test her, too.

Yeah.

Oh, God, Jefferson.

I'm so scared for our girls.

I know.

That's what I've been...

Bruh, when I say stop arguing,
that's what's got to happen, period.

Then we can get to the
root cause of the problem.

But we can't do that if
you're yelling and cussing.

I can't let ninjas just be
out here punking me, Mr. Nasir.

You gotta use your head.

We're not asking you to
allow someone to punk you,

we're asking that you
control your anger.

I have to take this.

Talk less, listen more.

That's what I've been trying...

Come on, use your head, man.
This is your future. I got mine.

Yeah?

Is this the electrician?

What can I do for you, Inspector?

Is there anyone else
like you in Freeland?

Okay, not exactly like you, but
I just mean someone with, uh...

unique abilities.

Why do you ask?

There was an incident at the university.

Some students reported seeing a woman

destroy a Confederate
general's statue with a stomp.

No matter how much I
agree with what she did,

you just can't go around
destroying university property,

or any property.

I haven't heard of anyone
like that in Freeland,

but if I hear of
anything, I'll hit you up.

Hey, yo.

Since I'm looking out for you,

I need you to do something for me.

Something like what?

That clue you gave me to find
Toledo, it didn't pan out.

Could you find another
way to track him down?

I'll see what I can do.

Why are you so hung up on Toledo anyway?

He's a hired gun.

I ain't after Toledo. I'm
after his boss, Tobias Whale.

You chasing ghosts now?

No, I saw Tobias.

The crazy thing is, he looks like
he hasn't aged a day in 30 years.

How is that possible?

I'll let you know when I catch his ass.

Wait a minute... Hello?

Hey...

Anissa, how you feeling?

Dad, I'm ready to go out in the streets.

I was thinking we could
hit the community center,

and then maybe take down
some Green Light houses...

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa!

You're a teacher and a med student,
and that's all you need to be.

Just because you have abilities
doesn't mean you have to use them.

I've already used them.

To destroy a Confederate statue.

Oh. I know. It was a
mistake. I lost my head.

That's just it, Anissa. You
can't afford to lose your head.

That's when people get hurt, or worse.

Okay. Then train me.
Show me how to do this.

No. You're clearly not ready.

No, Dad, you're not ready.

There's a difference.

That box you gave your mother...

The box of my father's research...

Where'd you get it?

I got it from your
father's editor, David Poe.

Why?

Dad, when I first got my powers,

I didn't know what was going on with me.

So I started doing some
digging on the Internet

and I saw that Grandpa
was doing research

on missing kids and enhanced abilities.

So, I reached out to his editor,
and he gave me what he had.

I did what I could, but
it was so over my head

that I had to give it to Mom.

It was selfish and reckless
to give that box to your mother

without giving her all the details.

Your grandfather was murdered.

You don't think he was researching

anything else that may
have been dangerous?

So you think the box was
the reason for the break-in?

I don't know.

But if there's a chance that it
is, you have to warn David Poe.

No powers, just you.

Okay.

We need to have a conversation.

I already told you, the Stewart
situation is being cleaned up.

I'm not here about Lynn.

I'm here about Tobias.
The man is a problem.

He is a retail outlet

who makes a 300% profit.

That kind of financial asset
is almost impossible to replace.

Evelyn, the man is wanted.
He's supposed to be underground.

His head's gotten too big.

Ever since his little visit to my shop,

I've been keeping tabs on him.

Whatever message you thought
you sent, he didn't receive.

He's been strutting around
this city like he owns it.

He's about to open a night
club, for God's sakes.

It's only a matter of time
before he's caught by the cops.

Or even worse... Black Lightning.

If he talks,

he could dismantle the whole

ecosystem we've created over the years.

We need to clip his wings.

I am aware that Tobias has been somewhat

of a habitual line-stepper lately,

but, Gambi...

you and I both know
ecosystems are tricky.

Taking Tobias out would
throw that balance off.

But...

You could have Joey Toledo.

Toledo is Tobias's right hand.

If you remove him from the equation,

maybe Tobias will get the hint
and start being more careful.

And if Tobias doesn't fall in line?

I'll throw him off that
bridge when I get to it.

Do we have a deal?

Deal.

Give Mr. Toledo my regards.

All right. What's the deal with you two?

Something's up, I can tell.

Nothing's up, Jen. I'm
just reading the paper.

Yeah, and Anissa's just studying.

You know what you're not doing?

Talking.

Don't worry about it,
Jen. Dad and I are cool.

- Right, Dad?
- Yeah. Cool.

So everything is normal? I'm just
making all this up in my head?

Apparently.

Okay, well, on a normal
day, you would have noticed

that I'm wearing your favorite
shirt without permission

and Dad would have asked
at least a dozen times

if I had an activity to
replace track yet, so...

You guys wanna try again?

All right. If you must know,

Anissa was upset with me, um,

because I blew off a follow-up
scan your mother wanted to run.

Uh, I...

I was busy, and I thought
it wasn't important,

but...

your sister convinced
me to, uh, do the scan.

- Yeah.
- So...

So all this was about a scan?

Look, I was just trying
to look out for Dad, Jen.

You know, protecting is what
the Pierce family does best.

All right, guys, I have
some errands to run,

so I'll see you guys later.

- Yeah.
- Okay.

So are you doing this brain
scan after family dinner tonight?

Well, uh, your mother had to leave
town suddenly for a conference.

But when she's free,
I'll have the test done.

Okay.

Hi, Mr. Poe, it's Anissa Pierce again.

If you could give me a call back when

you get this message, that'd be great.

I hope everything's great with
you, and I'll talk to you soon. Bye.

- Hey, what are you doing here?
- Hey.

Uncle Gambi, he let me in
on his way out for lunch.

Look, I stopped at your
place, picked up a few things.

I just want you to be as comfortable
as possible while you're here.

- I appreciate it. Thank you.
- You're welcome.

Mom, look, I'm sorry about yesterday.

I feel bad how our conversation ended.

I just want you to have a normal life,

free of the trials and tribulations

your father and I had to go through.

When he put on that suit
and walked out the door,

I never knew if he was gonna
walk back through it again.

Is that what you want for your life?

Is that how you want the people
who love you to live their lives?

Wait.

Is Dad being Black Lightning
why you two broke up?

Yeah.

This life is hard, baby.
That's what I'm telling you.

And if you're not careful,
you could lose yourself in it.

When's the last time
you had a conversation

with anyone besides your family?

When's the last time you were on a date?

When you do what your father does,

what you wanna do,

everybody gets a happy ending but you.

But the community, they fell
apart, Mom, without Black Lightning,

but people are starting to believe

that they can get up from
The One Hundred again,

up from the crooked police.

Look, I can finally
help Dad free Freeland.

And I'm willing to
sacrifice my happiness

so that other people can have theirs.

- Can I help you, dear?
- Oh, I hope so.

I'm looking for David
Poe. Is he around today?

I'm sorry. David died a few days ago.

He was struck by a car
on his morning bike ride.

The police said it was a hit-and-run.

Did you know him well?

Yeah, he, um...

He was a friend of the family.

I'm so sorry to be the
one to share this with you.

Go check it out.

Let's go.

Who are you?

Uh, I left dinner on the stove
for you. It should still be warm.

Anissa...

Anissa, what is it?

It's David Poe...

I came as soon as you called.

What is it? Are you okay?

Remember when Anissa was ten months

old and she kept trying to walk?

Yeah, of course I remember.

She'd fall, and then she'd cry.

She'd fall, and then she'd cry.

She did it over and over again.

A week later, she was walking.

Ever since the day she was
born, she's been stubborn.

She never stops.

She will keep falling until she walks.

- You have to help her, Jefferson.
- Are you kidding?

Eventually, she will go back out
there, whether we like it or not.

And if she doesn't have
someone to look after her,

then she will get hurt.

Or worse.

Training her is the right thing to do.

Okay, what happened to "Powers
are the drug that destroys lives"?

And "I'm an addict"?

Do you want that for
Anissa? To destroy her life?

I'm not talking about
destroying her life.

I'm asking you to protect it.

Hey, Jefferson.

If I'd known you were coming, I
would have picked up some more food.

No, I was just on my way out.

Yeah.

When?

On my way.

What is it? What happened?

It's nothing.

Jazz.

One of the only things
brothas got right.

What do you need, sis?

Joey...

He's dead.

What?

One of your men found this
before the police arrived.

Son of a bitch!

Run and hide.

That's exactly what
Lady Eve wants me to do.

No.

It's either her or you.
You understand that?

Do you understand that?

If I kill Lady Eve without
the Shadow Board's permission,

I might as well bury myself with her.

Not necessarily.

_

What's up?

Joey Toledo took one to the chest,
he suffocated in his own blood.

Toledo was my only lead to Tobias.

Maybe not.

I looked a little closer at Toledo.

His girlfriend's car

has gotten a lot of tickets
outside this new jazz club

as it was being remodeled.

Tomorrow's the grand opening.

Thing is, she couldn't
have gotten those tickets

because she was clocked in at work
halfway across the city at the time.

So, it has to be Toledo.

And if Toledo was there for the remodel,

chances are, if he was still breathing,

he'd be there for the opening.

And given the givens,

if Tobias is back in Freeland...

that's where we'll find him.

You're welcome!

The two men were gunned
down near PAX Institute

trying to escape with
high-end medical equipment.

When asked for his comments,
PAX CEO, Christopher Smith,

said he would make no comment
until police make an arrest.

I take it you saw.

Guess you were right.

Wrong place, wrong time.

I'm just glad you're safe.

Look, Peter...

I know we don't see
eye-to-eye on a lot of things,

but I do believe you
care about Jefferson,

and our family,

and protecting us,
and because of that...

I need to ask you a favor.

Hmm.

So, you wanna write
about me, huh, Uncle Tom?

It's time for you to
eat your damn words.

Dad.

Dad.

This suit is gonna be
state-of-the-art, Lynn.

It'll keep Anissa safe.

I just hope you're not
making my baby a casket.

It's Anissa.

Would you tell her
I'll be up in a minute?

Of course.

- Hey.
- Hey, Anissa.

- How are you?
- All right.

- Your mom will be up in a minute.
- Okay.

- This is for you.
- For me?

You're making me a suit?

I'm making it with a
breathable, Kevlar weave,

so even when you're not bulletproof,
you'll still be bulletproof.

It's gonna be fireproof,
and water-resistant,

it's gonna have state-of-the-art
neuro-interface technology

stitched into the lining,

so I'll be able to monitor
your vitals from here.

Wow.

I'll run you through all the
bells and whistles when it's done.

Just give me a little
while to get it together.

Okay.

If you ladies will excuse me,
I have a lot of work to do.

Anissa, you think I
don't get it, but I do.

Ever since you were a little girl,

you were always protective of others.

Whether it was Jen or someone
being bullied on the playground,

you always stood up for them.

And now, you want to
stand up for Freeland.

Just be careful,

okay?

I love you, Mom.

I love you, too.

- All right, let's go. Let's get you home.
- Yeah.

Thanks, baby.

♪ My heart, my strength
My power, all my energy ♪

♪ My patience and my trust
My whole damn life it seems ♪

♪ If it all runs out... ♪

♪ Will it all run out? ♪

♪ My right, my wrong, my soul
My song, my hopes and dreams ♪

♪ My joy, my pain And my
weakness is all to me ♪

Is everything ready to go?

- Just say when.
- When.

♪ Said it all runs out ♪

♪ Will your love stay ♪

So you got everything you need?

With you by my side, indeed.

You've got to be kidding me.

Tobias!

Tobias, are you okay?

Come on, come on. Let's get out of here.

Go.

Tori. Tori!

Come on.

Tori!

No! Tori!

No!

Come on, breathe. Breathe. Stay with me.

Breathe.

Come on, breathe. Stay with me.

Stay with me. Come on.

Breathe.

Hi, Grace. It's, um...

It's Anissa.

I ow it's been a while, but
I've been thinking about you,

and I was hoping that we could
grab a drink or dinner or something.

So, call me back when you get this.

I miss you.

All right, bye.

Come in.

Hey.

Hey. Uh... Can I talk to you a minute?

Sure.

I'm a hypocrite.

You know how I always get
on you to keep your head?

I've let my emotions get the
best of me over and over again.

And tonight, a young lady died.

- Dad, listen...
- No, no, no. Look.

We are both gonna make mistakes,

horrible mistakes,

but without us, Freeland
doesn't stand a chance.

I don't know everything,

but what I do know, I'm
going to teach my daughter.

No, you're not a hypocrite.

You're great.

You're a great dad, great principal,

the greatest hero.

I mean, Dad, I can only hope
to live up to your example.

No.

Be better than me.

Yeah.

You went too far this time.

Evelyn Stillwater-Ferguson,

a prominent member of the Freeland
community, was murdered tonight

along with two employees at
her Black Bird Funeral Parlor.

Police sources say she was killed

by electrocution...

making Black Lightning
their prime suspect.

And just like that,

Freeland's protector just
became its biggest threat.

Do you believe in the
Resurrection, Latavious?